Arrr! I've been cataloging various Reaper minis for use in pirate-themed Savage Worlds adventures (e.g., Pirates of the Spanish Main, 50 Fathoms, Savage World of Solomon Kane, Privateers' Bounty), especially since I have a number of them already. Some of the choices would be fairly obvious (especially if there's "pirate" or "mermaid" in the name), but there are a few Reaper minis I've picked up that I found worked surprisingly well to represent pirate-y types (and their pets), depending upon how I did the paint job.

I kept this one to characters that look like they might fall into the late 16th to early 18th century, arbitrarily considering that to be vaguely the "age of piracy" as portrayed in most pirate settings. There are a number of figures that technically "could work" here for a number of categories (e.g., lots of ghosts and skeletons that aren't beholden to any particular time period, and any number of animals), but I tried to err toward "things I could really use for a pirate campaign" and "things that look at least kind of pirate-y."

I thought I'd try taking a few snapshots of some of the miniatures I've been using in my Pirates RPG campaign (which I've been running at my "friendly local game store," the Armadillo Game Shoppe in Oviedo, Florida, including a few of the PCs:

Captain Barnacle Ben, Ex-Whaler, and Hunter of Sea Monsters:

Reaper Miniatures #3252, Anatole, Human Harpooner -- used to represent one of the heroes, Barnacle Ben (now known primarily as "Captain Barnacle"). For the campaign, I've been offering that if someone buys a miniature through the store to represent his PC, I'll paint it up if desired (as time permits). His player was the only one who took me up on that one. The miniature isn't converted, save for a bit of wire to make a coil of rope attached to the harpoon, and some building up of the base.

Clarissa, Banshee:

Reaper Miniatures #14274 - Clarissa, Banshee (Warlord - Razig Faction) -- used to represent the banshee on the "Banshee's Wail," the ghost ship that was defeated by the heroes, and which is now captained by shipwright Keelhaul Henry (a former PC, critically wounded in the battle -- and it seemed a good place for him to "retire" to be replaced by a new PC, though he's made a "guest appearance" since then).

Habib, Swashbuckling Barbary-Coast Swordsman:

Reaper Miniatures #2439 - Urji, Arab Pirate -- used to represent Habib, a replacement character (after the "retirement" of Keelhaul Henry), a daring swordsman and swashbuckler who has the ability to swing on rigging, slide down sails, and generally bounce about in gravity-defying ways in a ship-bound swordfight. Officially, he's the lookout of La Armadilla Amorosa in my in-store Pirates RPG campaign

Pearl, Mermaid:

Reaper Miniatures #3078 - Pearl the Mermaid -- slightly modified for propriety, and to decorate the base. Actually, the heroes haven't run into a "proper" mermaid yet, so this character hasn't yet come into play. It was still fun to paint up.

I now have my own tripod! So, any flaws in the pictures are entirely my fault and I can't just blame it on an unstable camera.

Dark Maiden (Reaper #14106)

The Dark Maiden, figurehead for a doomed vessel, painted here in a scheme meant to evoke an underwater scene. (I used it to represent a special treasure for when the heroes in my Pirates RPG campaign went down in a diving bell into the Great Blue Hole near the island of Andros.)

Fairy Pirate (Reaper #02741)

Okay, so there's nothing distinctly pirate-like about this figure, but I got it as part of a "grab bag" miniatures deal, minus the wings and the rest of the "fairies" set it would have originally come from. I used some putty to mend the wing-holes in the back, and painted her up, with the thought that, should this actually come in handy to represent a character, I might modify it with a dress to go with that corset, or perhaps paint some leggings -- and maybe even add a hat.

Hyrekia (Reaper #2810)

This figure - minus the spellcaster's staff - makes for a decent-enough figure of indeterminate era. I used her to represent the principal NPC from "The Lady's Favor," the introductory adventure for the Pirates of the Spanish Main RPG.

Kaena the Banshee (Reaper #14053)

A shrieking ghost haunting the broken hulls of shipwrecks on a coral reef. The wreckage pieces are from some Chap Mei pirate action-figure sets. (There's very little concern for scale in those toys, so the pieces work passably for tabletop scenery.)

If the heroes in my campaign ever head out to the South China Seas, they might possibly run into this character. (I suppose it would have made more sense if I'd posed her on a Chinese junk, but I'd have to dig that out of the garage first.)

Razig and Crew (assorted Reaper Warlord miniatures)

Arrrr! Here's my collection of Reaper "Razig"-faction undead skeleton pirates, posed on a Mega Bloks "Dread-Eye's Phantom" ship (slightly modified to file down all the deck "pegs," and to fill in that "sacrificial pit" lest any figures fall into it).

Sela Windsprite (Reaper #03128)

I also have a monkey miniature (from another Reaper "familiars" set) that I painted up to represent her pet when it's not riding her shoulder. I used this for a pre-generated character, but had to come up with stats for a "volley pistol" -- patterned after the volley gun, but dropping the damage die type and reducing the weight.

Sister Catherine, Battle Nun (Reaper #02611)

I had to modify this one slightly to give her a little more modesty. A nun (battling or not) shouldn't be running around armored on the front side but just wearing a thong on the back. That's a severe defensive weakness! I didn't list this one as a recommend miniature for Pirates RPG games, since the thong is a bit much (and a "battle nun" is still pushing it considerably), but I might work this character in anyway.

This was originally meant to be a superheroine/supervillainess in the Chronoscope line, but I painted this up as a sort of "sand spirit" encounter, as my Pirates RPG campaign has hit the Barbary Coast. With a little bit of creative painting, the figure could be given some Egyptian-ish jewelry and pass for some poor soul who was abandoned to die in the desert, and who has returned to vent her rage upon the still-living ... or perhaps some sort of djinn, etc.

The background terrain piece is made from Hirst Arts Castlemolds castings (the "pyramid" set). And it might not look like it from this angle (as so much is obscured), but that's supposed to be an ankh painted on the base.

I found this figure to be useful to add to my collection of "Barbary Coast corsairs," particularly since my present Pirates RPG campaign has made its way back to the Barbary Coast. This figure comes with two optional left hands to be glued on, one holding a scimitar (as pictured), and the other holding a crude-looking wooden club.

For my Pirates of the Spanish Main campaign, my heroes ventured into the "Frozen North (name borrowed from one of the PotSM expansion sets) and did battle against Vikings. I figure these will also come in handy when I ever get around to running a Hellfrost (Triple Ace Games) campaign.

Right, Vikings shouldn't exist circa the 17th century, or any part of the "golden age" of piracy. My excuse was that these were quasi-ghostly warriors who'd wandered off from Valhalla. I mean, hey, that sort of thing just HAPPENS sometimes in "Pirates of the Spanish Main."

Alas, I applied clear coat to these figures before taking pictures. Even though I use Krylon matte acrylic, it's not "matte" enough to avoid getting a terrible shine when I take pictures. Therefore, for this attempt at photography, I tried draping a bit of facial tissue over the top of a "scenic box" formed from some Mage Knight "3D Dungeons" walls and doors.

Reaper #02333 - Orlath HoarbeardLeader of my Viking forces, by virtue of having the most ridiculous helmet. He's not tagged as a "Viking" on the Reaper site, but I figure he works just fine as one. (And, yes, I know that historically Vikings didn't run around with fancy-schmancy wings or horns on their helmets, but this is FANTASY -- and, for that matter, it's the afterlife for this guy, so I guess he can have whatever sort of crazy headgear he wants.)

Reaper #02556 - Erik Redbeard, VikingThis Viking looks a little bit on the plain side, coming right after Orlath, but I LOVE the sculpted detail on that shield.

Reaper #02623 - Sheya, Shield MaidenAll right -- the free-hand knotwork doesn't look all that great up close, but I still had fun toying around with decorating the shield.

Reaper #02699 - Wiglaf, VikingI originally got this guy because of that crazy "dragon head" standard. I figured, hey, I can replace that standard with a sword or axe, and then take the stylized "dragon head" and use it as a figurehead for a scratch-built Viking ship.

One problem: It's only one-sided! D'oh!

Reaper #02939 - Viking GirlDressed in AUTHENTIC Viking-girl attire, I'm sure. I modified the shield (which was originally just a plain flat design) with a spare Skaven shield "bit," after trimming off the horns and some of the pointy bits, in the hopes it would pass for a wolf-head design rather than a great horned rat.

Jordan Peacock wrote:I modified the shield (which was originally just a plain flat design) with a spare Skaven shield "bit," after trimming off the horns and some of the pointy bits, in the hopes it would pass for a wolf-head design rather than a great horned rat.

I actually painted this guy up as a Khadoran noble for an Iron Kingdoms campaign, but the figure (sans funny hat -- I added that part on) of course also works rather well for a pirate with sword and flintlock.

The figure doesn't come on a 30mm base; rather, the plastic built-in base just happens to fit rather neatly into the recessed area of a standard 30mm slotted round-lip base. It stands nicely on its own, even without the 30mm plastic base.

(Note: The PEWTER version of Barnabus Frost varies slightly, in that he has a tricorn hat and is carrying a map in his left hand, thus branding him more clearly as a pirate-type.)

These figures come with incorporated bases that fit within the gap areas of 30mm round lipped bases (such as those used by Chronoscope or Warmachine/IKRPG miniatures), though I used some putty to fill out to the edges, and added assorted "bitz" for base decoration.